Rabbi Meir and Other Related Matters

The plethora of wonderful people, services and events which I have found in Orthodox shuls in my search for a Jewish home far outweigh what I am now going to mention. But what I am now going to mention could prove fatal to Orthodoxy, and therefore, to all of Judaism. It is not that I did not find this same trait-although not quite so pronounced-in Conservative shuls. But that doesn’t matter. For the future of Judaism as a whole is with Orthodoxy and if Orthodoxy is not equal to the challenge, then Judaism disappears. And what is this trait?

An undercurrent (clearly discernible and, just as clearly, not universal) of smugness and self-satisfaction. These are indeed heady times for Orthodoxy. Its ascendancy in Judaism as whole is stupendous and is still growing. Orthodoxy deserves this for its role of steady fidelity to the Covenant in the treacherous aftermath of the Haskala. Orthodoxy of all colorings is properly reaping the reward for such fidelity. But this is no time to rest on your laurels. Judaism is in mortal danger from within and the “cure” must come from the ranks Orthodoxy or it won’t come at all. This smugness and self-satisfaction inhibits the ability to even see the problem at all; and thus it could be a killer.